9 hours ago
Pope Leo gifted GAA jersey during audience at the Vatican
Pope Leo has been gifted a special GAA jersey during a recent audience at the Vatican for the Jubilee of Sport.
Catherine Hallinan and Niamh Ryan are from Ireland and Katie Molloy is from New York. All three are members of the Rome Hibernia Gaelic Athletic Association and have been living in Rome for a number of years.
They were thrilled to catch the attention of the Pope when they gathered with dozens of other groups and managed to get front row seats.
Ms Molloy recalled how he waved over at the three expats: "We were able to pass on our special Jubilee of Sport jersey. We got the Jubilee logo printed on the sleeve, written 'as gaeilge'."
Ms Ryan is a teacher from the village of Ballybricken in Limerick and has enjoyed a stellar GAA career with her home county.
"For me, the GAA lives out the Jubilee of Sport theme through its strong emphasis on teamwork, which helps bring people together.
"We have six different languages on our team so the game unites this group of people together, despite your background or wherever you come from," she added.
Ms Hallinan is from Clonmel in Tipperary and says there is a close relationship between faith and sport. "There are as many GAA pitches as churches in Ireland," she joked before continuing.
"The GAA and our religion went hand in hand in keeping the Irish identity alive through a long, and at times, troubled history," she added.
She says the GAA is more relevant than ever today.
"Sport brings people together from all walks of life and our men and women's teams travel all around Europe competing," she said.
Ms Hallinan said it was lovely to hear Pope Leo mention Ireland during his greetings at the Vatican. She said now that he has a special jersey, they will make him an honorary member of the GAA!
